im planning on taking a road trip from colorado to california this summer in the beginning of may. i a relatively beginning climber. i can lead a 9's and 10's. what are some good places to stop at? i was talking to some experienced climbers and they were saying about going up to idaho instead of moab because the difficulty of routes. is this true? will there still be snow around in the beginning of may in idaho? im open to any suggestions.

thanks for the reply but im from northern california but im flying out to colorado to see my brother and we are going to take a climbing road trip back. so i was looking from more of idea of places between colorado and california.

i was talking to some experienced climbers and they were saying about going up to idaho instead of moab because the difficulty of routes. is this true?

Depends on how much time you plan to spend there. There are certainly a selection of 9's and 10's around Moab. Although there are a fair number of 10's in Indian Creek (an hour south of Moab), the sweet spot there is really 11. (But one person's 10 is another's 11 - it all depends on hand and finger size.) How burly you find them depends on how much crack experience you have.

City of Rocks is the only thing worth roadtripping in Idaho. It's well worth it though. If you go that way see if you can fit in Sinks Canyon in Lander, WY. It has some amazing climbs and some great bouldering at Wild Iris. And there is a chance they'll be snow in May. I was in Jackson, WY in late may and I was snowed on everyday for a week. I know their geography is a lot different but their latitudes are similar.

I'd suggest the Utah route. I just did a road trip from Denver to San Diego last year during May. I had great weather the entire time. I stopped in Moab, Zion, Red Rocks, and J-Tree.

Obviously, J-Tree is a little far south if you are heading to NoCal but Red Rocks is well worth the drive. Plus, you can pick up a hooker or something in Vegas. Atleast stop by spearmint rhino. It's about a 9 hour drive from Vegas to Sacramento (not sure where in NorCal you are headed) but you can stop at Bishop and do some bouldering and then Yosemite and get some trad. Not sure what Yosemite is like in May. I've only been once and it was in August.

As far as being a beginner, there will be climbs in your level at just about everywhere you go.